Proteus frame building book

I came across this gem over the weekend. it is the Proteus frame building book. It was published in 1975 by Dr. Paul Proteus, who actually did not exist and was presumed to be written by two of the founders of Proteus. It reminds me of the “Moosewood Cookbook”. Across the street from the University of Maryland in 1972, 3 young bike enthusiasts decided to make their own bikes and a booming business was begun. Proteus took a very hands-on, proletariat approach… you could buy a bike frame, or a bike frame kit, or have your kit’s tubes mitered by Proteus, or have your bike painted after you made it at home! Proteus also was a prime supplier for building bits and tubing. In all cases, this paperback put in very basic terms what was required to make a ride-able bicycle with simple hand tools. Frames sold by and labeled PROTEUS were made by various employees who changed regularly. Yet highly trained master builders also came & went at Proteus. Perhaps most notable was Koichi Yamaguchi, who went on to have his own workshop in Colorado and build quite a reputation. Some of this text is taken from the classic Rendezvous website.